1.Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to data processing, and more particularly to retrieving and formatting tax information in order to recreate tax documents.
2.Description of Related Art
Often time, an individual will need copies of their filed tax returns and/or income and wage statements. For example, copies of these documents are typically required by banks or other financial institutions in order to underwrite mortgage loans. Other examples of uses for the copies of the filed tax returns include landlord/tenant credit quality, SBA loan, and FAFSA student loan financial aid.
Conventionally, the individual or his/her representative submits a completed IRS form 4506(Request for Transcripts of Tax Returns) along with a processing fee via standard mail. The individual then must wait typically four to six weeks for the form to be processed by the IRS and the copies of the tax returns and/or income and wage statements to be mailed back.
In many situations, the four to six week turn-around time is too long and may prevent actions dependent on the information contained in the tax return or income and wage statements. For example, a bank may be delayed in underwriting a loan, which may result in the underwriting process extending beyond a period of time for which a particular interest rate is locked in on the proposed loan.
As an alternative, the individual may acquire a copy of their tax return or income and wage statements from their tax preparer or employer. If the tax preparer or the employer has moved, shut down, or simply stopped maintaining copies of these documents, however, the individual will not be able to obtain the required documents. Additionally, information or documents received by the individual may have been altered or include data not consistent with actual data (e.g., actual tax return data that the IRS has).
Therefore, there is a need for systems and methods for accessing and retrieving tax data. There is a further need to accurately recreate tax documents utilizing the retrieved tax data.